Cooler



2 Sheets-fSheet 2 ATTORNEYS C. MELDAU Feb. 16, 1937.

COOLER Filed June 7, 1934 Patented Feb. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE COOLER Charles Meldau, New York, N. Y. Application June 7, 1934,Serial No. 229,405

4 Claims. (Cl. 285-210) My invention relates to coolers such as are usedfor cooling fluids or liquids, and particularly beverages such as beer.The object of my present invention is to improve coolers of the typeemploying one or more manifolds and pipes in connection therewith. Onefeature of my invention relates to the structure of the manifold;another feature relates to the joint between the manifold and the pipes,and still another feature relates to a special arrangement of manifoldand pipes. These features and others will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings, and the novelty will thenbe particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a bottom view of a manifold blank producedin accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof,with parts in section; Fig. 3 is a top View of one form of manifold madefrom the blank shown in Figs. 1 and 2 after cutting the same into unitsand connecting such units in arelation different from their originalrelation; Fig. 3a is a top view of another manifold of the same type butslightly different construction; Fig. 3by is a section on line Sla- 3bof Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing two manifolds of thecharacter of Figs. 3 and 3a. respectively connected by straight pipes;Fig. 5 is a cross section of a cooler tank provided with manifolds andpipes such as shown in Figs. 3, 3a. and 4; Fig. 6 is a cross section ofa cooler tank with a different arrangement of manifolds and pipes; Fig.7 is a plan View indicating another construction of a manifold; Fig. 8isa vertical section of a cooler tank with a manifold and pipe arrangementsuch as represented in plan view in Fig. 9; Fig. 10 shows upon anenlarged scale, an end View of a portion of one of the manifold unitsproduced from the blank shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 11 is alongitudinal section showing a portion of such unit in connection withthe adjacent end of a cooler pipe; and Fig. 12 is a side view of one ofsuch units.

In manufacturing manifolds to be used as elements in the construction ofthe improved cooler I prefer to proceed as follows:

I make a casting (of suitable metal, such as bronze) in the nature of abar-like body A such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, having U-shaped channels20 open at their ends. The two parallel members of each U-shaped channelare separated by an intervening longitudinal partition or web 20' (Fig.2). Each U-shaped channel is bounded or surrounded by-a portion of metalhaving walls of substantially equal thickness, thus forming seats orrecesses 2l in opposite outer faces of the body A, as shown in Fig. 1and at the central portion of Fig. 2. Adjoining U-shaped metal portions,each containing one of such channels, are connected with each other, lasindicated at 22. The free ends of the channeled metal portions arepreferably in the same plane, and furthermore, I prefer to give theedges of the metal, adjacent to such free ends, a wavy or irregularform, as indicated at 23 at the left-hand portion of Fig. 2, for thepurpose of facilitating the separation of the casting from the mold.After taking the casting from the mold, I prefer to apply a protectivecoating of tin or other suitable material to the c-asting, bothexternally and within the channels 20. I then smooth the inner surfacesof the channels 20 at their ends, if required, and cut into the annularedge portions 23, annular grooves 24 which taper from their open ends tothe opposite ends, at which a flat transverse annular surface 25 isproduced. The two annular surfaces 25 at the bottom of the grooves 24belonging to the same channel 20 are preferably in the same transverseplane, as shown. At this inner end of each groove 24, the wallsurrounding the adjacent channel end is thickest, such thicknessdiminishing to the outer end of the channel. Preferably, both the innercircumferential wall 26 of the groove 24 and its outer circumferentialwall 2l are inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of therespective channel end. 'I'he wall 26 and the channel 20 extend beyondthe wall 2l, so that the end surface 28, adjacent to said channel, is inadvance of the surface 29. The surfaces 28 and 29 are preferably alsosmoothed and made perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the endportions of the channels The next operation consists in severing units,each containing one U-shaped channel 20, from the bar-like body or blankshown in Figs. 1 and 2. This severing may be carried out by cutting orsawing through the connecting portions 22 as indicated by the lines 30.I thus obtain units A' of the character shown in Fig. 12, detailsthereof being illustrated in Figs. and 11.

From the units thus obtained I form manifolds in which such units occupya position relatively to each other different from the one which theyhad in the original blank or body. Several different forms of manifoldswhich may be thus produced are illustrated in the drawings, but I do notwish to restrict myself to these particular forms. In Fig. 3 and at theupper portions of Figs. 4 and 5, I have indicated an upper manifold Mformed by fitting six units A together in such v ifold to be placedclose to the straight (plane) i a fashion that the rst, third and fifthunits will be parallel with each other and substantially at right anglesto the second, fourth and sixth units which are likewise parallel amongthemselves. Each unit is connected with its neighbor at points midwaybetween the two end members of the channel 20. The odd-numbered unitsmay be said to form one set, and the evennumbered units another set. Theaxes or centers ofk corresponding channel ends of the same set are inthe same plane, or in a straight line as indicated in Fig. 3, thusenabling the man- Wall of a cooler W. The connection of adjoining unitsis made in any suitable manner, preferalso Fig. 3b); that is, the solderwill be applied only to the outerl surface of the adjoining units A. Thelower manifold M shownin Figs. 4 and 5'is illustrated more in detail inFig. 3a. The unitsiof this lower manifold are so arranged that vthe twoends 'of the 'channel 2D of the same unit will be in the properpositionv for vertical alignment with ends of the channels 20 of twoadjoining units of the uppervmaniiold M. Since, as referred to below,both the inlet and the outlet connections are made to the upper manifoldM, in the particular embodiment shown'in Figs. 3to 5, it follows-thatthe lower manifold M' will require one unit A less than the uppermanifold, that is to say, fiveV units instead of six. The first,third,-and fth of these ve units are parallel tov each other, as shownin Fig. 3a, while the second and the fourth units are also paralleltoeachother, but at an angle to the other three. This angle, however, isnot a right angle as in Fig.l 3,-but altered so as to` bring the'channel ends of thel lower manifold units A into the desired registrylwith the corresponding channel endsof the upper manifold units. Both inFig. 3 and in Fig. 3a, the inclination or Obliquity of the odd-numberedlunits (first, third, etc.) is opposite'to vthat of the even-numberedunits. In Fig. 3a as well as in Fig 3, the centersof Ycorrespondingchannel ends of the same set are in a straight line. f

The vertically-aligning channel ends of the upper and of the lowermanifold are shown connected by straight vertical pipes 33. The twomanifolds having been formed or assembled from units A as set forth,their channels 25 are connected with the respective ends of the pipes33, for instance in the manner illustrated by Fig. 10: I take a pipe 33and expand its end as indicated at 33 in Fig. l0, The inner diameter ofthis pipe is equal to the diameter of the channel 2li.V v'I'he expandedend 33V of the pipe is fitted into the groove 24 and the angle of saidend 33' corresponds substantiallyto the inclination of' the innercircumferential wall 25 of the groove 24. `The manifold M or 'M' is`held in such a position that the pipe end`33 will be the lower end ofthe pipe. I then pour solder into the groove 24 around the pipe end 33',as indicated at 34. Such solder will adhere strongly tothe inner andouter surfaces of the pipe end 33' as Well as to the walls 25, 26, 21 ofthe groove 24 and to the end surfaces 28, 29.v In fact, some of the'solder will rise along the `inner surface of thev pipeend 33 as clearlyindicated in Fig. 10, thus practically-filling the'angle 'between thesurface 28 and the inner surface of the pipe. end

33. Any surplus solder will flow down on the outer surface of the unitand not into the pipe and into the channel 20. This is due to the factthat the surface 29 is at a lower level than the surface 28 or in otherwords, the open end of the channel 20 projects beyond the surface 29 ofthe unit. I thus guard against any obstruction which might be formed inthe pipe and in the channel by solder flowing into them. It will beunderstood that the pipes 33 are generally tinned on the inside whichfacilitates the spreading of the'solder. The tinning is applied to theentire inner surface of the pipes so that the beer or other beverage maynot be contaminated.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have shown an upper manifoldM and a lower manifold Mof the types described with reference to Figs. 3 and 3a. These manifoldsare in registry with each other and differ in the particulars explainedabove and also in that one of them faces upwardly and the otherdownwardly. These two manifolds are connectedl by straight pipes 33 inthe manner just described with reference to Fig. ll. Fig. 5 shows thesetwo manifolds located adjacent to the rear wall of a cooler box orcasing W of any suitable construction. One of the units A of theuppermanifold M serves as the inlet unit and has one end of its channel 20connected with an inlet pipe 35 through which beer or other beverage issupplied in any customary or approved manner. The direction of flow ofthe beer through the channels 20 of the several manifold units isindicated by arrows in Figs. 3 and i3d.; The last unit of the uppermanifold M has one,

end of its channel 20 connected with the outlet pipe 35 leading to thecock orl faucet 3l of suitable construction. 'I'he inlet pipe 35 andstheoutlet pipe 36 are secured in any suitable manner to the rfront wall ofthe cooler box W and this is sufficient to support the two manifolds andthe pipes connecting them in proper position within the cooler box. Whenchannels 32 are left as referred to hereinabove, the circulation of thecooling medium contained in the box or tank W is facilitated. It will,of course, be understood that the pipes 33 are not in contact with eachother so that ample space is left for the circulation of the coolingliquid in the tank W.

In Fig. 6, I have shown a construction in which two parallel manifolds Mof identical construction are disposed along the. front wall and therear wall respectively of the tank W. These two manifolds are of thesamecharacter as illustrated in Fig. 3, but instead of being connectedby straight pipes, as in the case ofthe superposed manifolds of Fig. 5,they are interconnected by U-'shaped pipes 33a. The inlet pipe 35',outlet pipe 36' and discharge cock or faucet 31' are of the samecharacter as in Fig. 5.

In some cases it may be desirable to construct the manifold in such amanner asit will not project so much from the adjacent wall of thecooler tank as in the form shown in Figs. 3 and 3a. In such cases I mayadopty the arrangement indicated in Fig. 7 where therst, third and fifthunits A are' in line with each other and close to the wall o-f thecooler tank W; these ,units are spaced from each other just enough toallow the insertion between them of the second and fourth units, which,like the sixth unit, extend at right angles to` the adjacent wall. Ofcourse, the units forming this manifold M,are soldered together insubstantially thesame manner as has been described in connection withFig. 3. vManifolds of thistypemaybe substituted for those shownin Figs.5 and 6. The construction illustrated by Fig. 7 shares with those shownin Figs. 3 and 3a, the arrangement of the centers of correspondingchannel ends of the same set in a straight line.

In Figs. 8 and 9, I have illustrated a manifold M2 which is of annularshape, adjoining units A being connected by solder 32 at their ends andplaced in such a way that together they will form an annular series. At35 I have indicated the inlet pipe, at 36 the outlet pipe and at 31" thedischarge cock or faucet, all of which may be of any suitableconstruction. The pipes 33b which connect the channels 20 of differentunits A are of U-shape, their upper ends connecting with thecorresponding channels in the manner described with reference to Fig.11, it being understood that the U-shaped channels are in invertedposition, that is to say, with their parallel members extendingdownwardly to the pipes 33h. The arrangement of the several pipes 33band the flow of the beer or other beverage through the several pipes andunits is indicated by arrows in Fig. 9. In this case also the inlet pipe35" and the outlet pipe 36" may suflice as supports for the manifold andthe connecting pipes 33h. The latter pipes are preferably arranged toconnect units located on opposite sides of the annular series of unitsforming the manifold. 'Ihese U-shaped connecting pipes 33b cross oneanother at their bends, and in order that they may cross one anotherwithout requiring sharp humps or other objectionable formations, theyare made of different lengths, so that the bottom portions of theseveral pipe bends will be located at different levels, permitting onepipe bend to pass above the bend of another pipe, as shown best in Fig.8. As the several pipes 33b cross each other when viewed from above (seeFig. 9), they form a basket-like structure which will readily hold theice placed in the cooler W.

In the original bar-like blank or body A, Figs. l and 2, all the units(each containing a U-shaped channel 20) are in line with each other, andtherefore together take up a considerable length. By dividing said bodyinto units as describedand re-arranging these units, I obtain a manifoldthe length of which is smaller than that of the original blank or body,and which therefore can be placed within a relatively short cooler box.This is an important advantage of my invention, because spacerequirements call for the employment of relatively short cooler boxes,while there is no serious objection to an increase in the width of thecooler boxes (the dimension measuredfrom left to right in Figs. 5 and6).

In some cases I may use various combinations of pipes and manifolds, andvarious other modifications may be made without departing from thenature of my invention as set forth in the appended claims. I haveillustrated constructions employing a single manifold, as in Figs. 8 and9, or two manifolds, as in Figs. 5 and 6, but I desire it to beunderstood that the number of manifolds may be altered to suit theconditions of individual cases.

I claim:

1. A manifold composed of connected units each of which is arranged atan angle to the adjacent unit, each of such units having a U-shapedchannel with two open ends facing in the same direction and alongitudinal web intervening between the parallel members of saidchannel, each unit being provided with tubular outwardlytapered portionssurrounding the open ends of the U-shaped channel, and withinwardly-tapered annular grooves surrounding said tubular portions, saidtapered tubular portions projecting beyond the outer circumferentialwalls of the respective annular grooves.

2. A manifold composed of connected units forming together an annularseries, each unit having a channel with two open ends, in combinationwith U-shaped connecting pipes each of which has one of its endsconnected with a unit on one side of said annular series and its otherend connected with a unit on the opposite side of said annular series toform a basket-like structure.

3. A manifold composed of connected units forming together an annularseries, each unit having a channel with two open ends, in combinationwith U-shaped connecting pipes each of which has one of its endsconnected with a unit on one side of said annular series and its otherend connected with a unit on the opposite side of said annular series toform a basket-like structure, the said connecting pipes being ofdifferent lengths and crossing one another attheir bends.

4. A manifold having a U-shaped channel with tWo open ends and alongitudinal web intervening between the parallel members of saidchannel, and provided with inner tubular outwardlytapered portionssurrounding the open ends of the U -shaped channel, and withinwardly-tapered annular grooves surrounding said tubular portions, saidtapered tubular portions projecting beyond the outer circumferentialwalls of the respective annular grooves.

CHARLES MELDAU.

